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Fitchburg staff shift road and parks timetables in CIP; Fitchrona Road scope grows while town declines bike-lane cost-sharing
Summary
Public Works updated timing and funding for major street and parks projects: Fitchrona Road expansion added segments and removed bike lanes where the town of Verona declined cost-sharing; the Traceway/Leopold TAP-funded bike/ped project saw cost increases and new grant match entries; Golden Gate Pass added as a new roadway project.
Public Works Director Tim Vulkar outlined a long list of changes to the city's street and parks program when presenting the proposed CIP to the Finance Committee on June 22.
On corridors, the Fitchrona Road project was revised to add an extended section to County Highway M and to widen a number of segments for safety; the town of Verona refused to cost-share proposed bike lanes in the project's middle section, so bike lanes were removed there and corresponding cost reductions were recorded. Tim Vulkar said the city will still pursue pavement improvements and a 2-inch mill-and-overlay in the town's portion, with reimbursement arrangements for economies of scale.
Irish Lane was kept on the CIP as a grant-driven reconstruction; staff revised planning, right-of-way and construction estimates to reflect updated Surface Transportation Block Grant amounts and a revised grant recommendation. For several projects the plan aligns design and construction timing with anticipated grant award years to avoid carrying costs if awards shift.
A new Golden Gate Pass project was introduced to complete the city portion of an underpass near the US-14 interchange, including curb and gutter and 8-foot sidewalks on both sides; staff noted some right-of-way parcels remain to be negotiated and flagged potential WISDOT coordination.
Parks updates: the Traceway and Leopold bike-and-ped corridor was re-costed (design to $170,000; construction to $1,265,000) after a grant estimate, and a TAP (Transportation Alternatives Program) grant application was added to fund about $758,000 of the updated cost. The plan also formalized replacement funds for playgrounds and a placeholder splash-pad replacement fund ($1.5M) to reflect increased maintenance needs as facilities age.
Staff repeatedly cited grant timing and workload as reasons for delaying or aligning projects; Tim said some projects were pushed to 2029—33 to coordinate with other utility work, minimize resident impacts and match grant cycles. He also noted technical choices remain to be decided on some county-coordinated surfaces (e.g., whether to replace concrete with concrete or to use crushed concrete as base with asphalt overlay).
What's next: staff urged alder amendments by July 6 to change scopes or funding sources; several transportation items are still contingent on WISDOT and county decisions or on future grant awards.
